Page 24 of You Shouldn't Have Come Here

“Will Little Miss New York be in attendance?” Charlotte smirked.

“If she’s still here, I’m sure. Might have scared her off with that elk cemetery.” I kicked at the gravel.

“One can hope,” she said with a laugh.

“Char, come on. Be nice. For me?”

“Fine, I’ll be nice—only for you.” Char tilted her head. “Speaking of nice. Would you be so kind as to come over and fix the leaky pipe under my sink? Pretty please,” she begged, pushing out her lower lip.

“Of course.”

“You’re the best, Calvin.” She closed her car door, and I headed toward my truck.

Char rolled down the window and called out. “Hey, Calvin.”

I turned back. “Yeah.”

“There’s something I want to talk to you about after she leaves.”

I shifted my stance and slid a hand into my front pocket. “You can tell me now.”

“No, it can wait.” Charlotte turned the key in the ignition.

“What if she doesn’t leave?” I said with a laugh, only half joking.

She put the car in drive and looked over at me. “Then I’ll throw her out myself.” Her eyes narrowed for a moment but then she flashed a smile that could only best be described as sinister.

13.

Grace

Curled up on the sofa next to the fireplace, I watched the flames dance, switching from hues of orange and yellow to blue. My skin felt hot to the touch because I had scrubbed it raw in the shower. Despite that, I could still feel the sticky blood on me, the maggots crawling over my skin, the rubbery sinew that seemed to grab on and never let go. The smell still lingered at the tip of my nose—a mix of iron, rotten eggs, mothballs, garlic, and feces. There was also a sweetness to it all. No one ever mentions that death has a sweet odor like the smell of afresh-cutlawn or a ripe banana. Hexanol and butanol are responsible for that pleasant scent just after death sets in.

Every time I blinked, I saw the ragged animal, the blood, thehalf-eatenguts, the frozen black eyes. Those same dark marbles were all around, hung up on the walls of the living room, staring down at me. I refocused my attention on the thriller I was reading, trying to silence my thoughts, but they were still there. I hadn’t read more than a few sentences since I had laid down over an hour ago. My mind kept going back to that feeling I had in the pit of my stomach—the one that tells you something is very wrong. To the lemon of a car sitting outside. The lack of cell phone service andWi-Fi. The rotting pit of animals at the end of the driveway. The scream I heard last night. I heard it, right? I rubbed my forehead and hoped the thoughts would rub away too. It was odd. One moment, I found the ranch comforting, and the next, it terrified me.

Calvin had driven off in his truck, following Charlotte, hours ago. He didn’t even tell me he was leaving or where he was going or when he’d be back. I couldn’t believe he had just left me here. But perhaps he was giving me space. I was cold to him, and maybe I pushed him away too hard. He hadn’t really done anything wrong... that I knew of. I needed to get over the pit of dead animals—no matter how disgusting it was—because it wasn’t Calvin’s fault. He didn’t kill those animals, and he didn’t make me slip into it. And the rest of the issues—no cell phone service orWi-Fiand my car acting up—were inconveniences I’d deal with eventually. But the scream? Well, I can’t be sure I even heard it. I was being paranoid. But deep down I knew that paranoia sometimes kept you safe.

The clock on the wall opposite the couch said it was after seven. I let out a sigh and flipped a page that I didn’t actually read. Headlights flooded the living room window, and the roar of a truck engine rumbled the house. Calvin’s footsteps clamored up the stairs, then across the porch. I heard him wrestle his boots off and drop them on the ground outside before the door squeaked open. I draped one leg over the other and propped my head up with my hand. When he entered the living room, he didn’t say anything, and I pretended I didn’t hear him. I felt his eyes scan over me—from my toes to my legs to my chest and then they stopped at my face.

“Hey,” he said.

I casually flipped a page of the book. “Where have you been?”

He wiped off his shirt the best he could and scratched the back of his neck.

“I was over at Charlotte’s helping her with her sink. Then, she had me help her with a window that wouldn’t open. Then, I fixed a cupboard door, and so on...”

“She kept you real busy.” I bit at my lower lip and ran my foot along my leg.

“Umm... yeah.” It was all he could manage to say. It was like all the energy in his body was going someplace else other than his brain. I knew then he hadn’t completely shut me out. I could salvage this and enjoy the rest of my time here. The most pleasurable things in life are temporary. Most people don’t understand that. They want to drag it out and make it last a lifetime. I could tell Calvin was like most people. He needed forever, but I just needed right now.

“You all right? Feeling any better?” He shuffled his feet.

I stood from the sofa, lowering my head slightly, and gazed up at him. “I will be after you settle your debt first.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Debt?”

Realization hit right away. His eyes went wide, and he cracked a grin as I walked to him. My fingers curled under the bottom of his shirt. I knew it was bold of me, but I also knew Calvin liked bold. He seemed to overthink and overanalyze everything, which was surprising for a country boy like himself. I pulled his shirt up over his head and dropped it on the floor beside him. I could practically see his heart pulsating in his chest. His breath quickened, and he quickly licked his lips like he was preparing for me to kiss him. But I wouldn’t, at least not yet. My eyes slithered up his stomach, to his chest, and then landed on his eyes. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bouncing up and down.

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